As the CFO Leadership Council prepares to celebrate its 20th anniversary at the Sheraton Hotel in Boston this week, the organization’s spring conference will offer a snapshot of the issues occupying finance leaders’ minds in 2026.
Based on this year’s agenda, here are nine questions we’ll be seeking answers to as the conference unfolds.
1. How much control do CFOs really have over healthcare costs?
Healthcare costs continue increasing at an unsustainable pace, which helps explain why the conference opens with a dedicated healthcare symposium during the latter half of day one. Specialty drugs continue driving costs higher, GLP-1 adoption remains a developing issue and many finance leaders still struggle to gain visibility into what is actually driving spending. The bigger question is whether CFOs have more influence over healthcare costs than they did five years ago, or whether this remains one of the few major expenses that largely sits outside finance’s control.
2. Which AI tools are separating themselves from the pack?
Most finance leaders have already experimented with artificial intelligence in some form. The next phase centers on where enterprise offerings from companies like Claude and OpenAI are creating measurable value, which vendors are gaining traction and what capabilities matter most inside finance organizations. ERP systems that refer to themselves as AI-native or cloud-based are also topically adjacent and interesting topics of conversation, given the persistent failure rates of such implementations despite improvements in supporting technology.
3. Is the COFO role becoming a permanent part of the executive suite?
The idea of the chief operating and financial officer continues to surface across the profession. CFO Alliance has touched on the topic repeatedly, and many finance leaders now oversee functions that would not have traditionally reported into finance. One question heading into the conference is whether that evolution reflects a lasting change in the profession or simply the short-term needs of specific companies and industries.
4. What do tariffs and the Iran conflict mean for CFO planning?
Geopolitical uncertainty has always been a recurring part of forecasting discussions. Finance leaders continue monitoring tariffs, potential refunds tied to trade actions, the impact of the ongoing conflict in Iran and the possibility of global dedollarization in the years to come. Energy markets and supply chain stability remain areas of concern because of these factors. CFOs across industries are increasingly being asked to incorporate these variables into planning assumptions, even when the outcomes remain difficult to predict.
5. Where is AI creating ROI inside finance organizations?
Finance leaders continue looking for proof that AI investments are generating returns. Some organizations are reporting efficiency gains inside the close process, and others are using AI to support FP&A. However, the more interesting discussion may be what happens after those efficiencies are realized.
Does technology allow finance teams to stay lean during periods of growth? Does it reduce hiring needs? Or does it create more time for things like cross functional collaboration and long-range planning? Expect plenty of discussion around where AI should replace manual work and where it should simply make finance professionals more effective.
6. What does the chief value officer trend actually mean for CFOs?
One breakout session focuses directly on the shift from CFO to chief value officer. The term continues gaining attention, alongside a growing number of efforts like the aforementioned COFO role to rebrand and redefine today’s finance chief role. However, given the growing number of descriptors for a finance lead, there seems to be little agreement on what these titles actually mean in practice.
The conversation also raises a larger question about whether the contemporary CFO role can be defined consistently across industries or whether value creation ultimately looks different from company to company.
7. What does cybersecurity mean in the age of deepfakes?
The cybersecurity discussion facing CFOs looks different from what it did just a few years ago. Deepfake technology, AI-generated fraud attempts, concerns around vendor credibility and more are creating new risks for CFOs. Controls that worked in the past may not be enough in a world where voice recordings, emails and even live video calls can be manipulated at a whim with increasing sophistication.
8. Where will the next generation of CFOs come from?
Changes to CPA licensure requirements, including efforts to provide alternatives to the traditional 150-hour pathway, continue to reshape the accounting profession. Firms are still dealing with talent shortages, and many younger professionals appear less interested in pursuing the partner track than previous generations. That could create a larger pool of accountants who move into industry earlier in their careers. For CFOs concerned about succession planning, the future leadership pipeline remains an important question.
9. What lessons are CFOs still taking from the Savannah Bananas?
By now, most finance leaders have probably heard some version of the Savannah Bananas story. Vice President of Finance Tim Naddy has become a familiar speaker at finance conferences, and his ideas around fan engagement have been widely discussed.
Since many CFOs last heard from him, Naddy has also launched Legaci Forge, a 501(c)(3) educational nonprofit focused on helping athletes improve their financial literacy and prepare for life after sports. That experience, combined with the rapid growth of the Bananas, gives him a unique perspective on workforce development. The question heading into his session is identifying which lessons continue proving useful outside of sports as organizations search for creative ways to drive growth and develop talent.
